1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a touch module, especially to a touch module outputting sensed data array.
2. Description of the Related Art
Please refer to FIG. 1, which illustrates a block diagram of a prior art touch module 100 interfacing with a central processing unit 170. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the prior art touch module 100 includes a sensor array 110, a multiplexer 120, an analog to digital converter 130, a micro controller/digital signal processor 140, a program memory 150, and a data memory 160.
The sensor array 110 has a plurality of scan output lines Y, and is commonly implemented with a resistive sensor array or a capacitive sensor array.
The multiplexer 120 is used for selecting one line from the scan output lines Y to deliver an analog sensed output signal SA.
The analog to digital converter 130 is used for converting the analog sensed output signal SA to a digital sensed signal D1.
The micro controller/digital signal processor 140 is used for executing a firmware program to perform calculations of touch coordinates and gesture codes according to the digital sensed signal D1, and communicate with the central processing unit 170 via a communication control signal C, so as to transmit data of the touch coordinates and the gesture codes to the central processing unit 170 through a data output signal DOUT.
The firmware program generally has procedures including scanning the sensor array 110 sequentially (step a), calculating touch coordinates and gesture codes (step b), delivering an interrupt request (step c), and outputting data of the touch coordinates and the gesture codes (step d), wherein, the interrupt request is delivered via the communication control signal C.
The memory 150 is used for storing the firmware program, while the data memory 160 is used for storing data needed during calculation processes.
According to the operations mentioned above, the touch module 100 can therefore provide data of touch coordinates and gesture codes to the central processing unit 170.
However, the architecture of the prior art touch module 100 has some disadvantages:
1. The demand of memory space for the program memory 150 and the data memory 160 will increase accordingly when the number of touch points increases, or the number of detecting points increases, or the number of varieties of gesture increases, or a function for noise depression is opened, or the size of the firmware program increases.
2. The capability of the firmware program is limited to the performance of the micro controller/digital signal processor 140 and the storage space of the program memory 150 and the data memory 160.
3. The demand of operation speed on the micro controller/digital signal processor 140 will increase accordingly when the number of touch points increases, or the number of detecting points increases, or the number of varieties of gesture increases, or the size of the sensor array 110 increases.
4. The manufacture cost of the touch module 100 will increase accordingly when the number of touch points increases, or the number of detecting points increases, or the number of varieties of gesture increases, or the size of the sensor array 110 increases.
5. The performance of the touch module 100 is limited by the performance of the micro controller/digital signal processor 140.
To solve the foregoing disadvantages, the present invention proposes a novel touch module, which is capable of outputting sensed data array.